Fraudulent Bitcoin Commodity Pool Worth $1.7B Investigated by CFTC

• Mirror Trading International Proprietary Ltd has been alleged by the CFTC.
• Steynberg claims that MTI’s algorithms provide a 10% monthly ROI.

According to a statement released Friday, U.S. regulators have filed a civil suit against a South African CEO and his firm for running a fraudulent commodity pool worth more than $1.7 billion in bitcoin. “Misappropriated” all of the bitcoin collected by Cornelius Johannes Steynberg and Mirror Trading International Proprietary Ltd has been alleged by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

According to the CFTC, this was the most significant Bitcoin fraud it has ever examined. The organization solicited bitcoin online from thousands of people to supposedly administer a commodities pool.

Duped Investors Over 10% ROI Promise

More than 23,000 people in the US and throughout the world contributed to an unauthorized commodities pool operation run by Steynberg, MTI’s most prominent figure, according to the CFTC. Moreover, MTI was in business for almost three years, from May 18, 2018, to March 30, 2021.

CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson said the following in a news release:

“The defendants’ little trading activity was unproductive, and they misappropriated nearly all of the at least 29,421 Bitcoin collected from participants.”

According to Johnson, scammers typically take advantage of the “perceived absence of a police officer on the beat,” as well as new technology, international connectivity, and other factors. According to CFTC complaint filings, MTI’s assertions are used as proof that investors were duped into believing they were part of a high-tech investment group.

To put it another way, Steynberg claims that MTI’s algorithms provide “passive income” with a 10% monthly return on investment (ROI). Referring to relatives and friends resulted in a reward, as shown by the supporting paperwork. The CFTC said that Sternberg had been detained in Brazil on an Interpol warrant after South African police sought him. After MTI filed for bankruptcy last year, South African authorities launched a fraud investigation.

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